Improvement in manure-hook or drag



-H. GROSS.

Manure Hook or Drag. l

No. 90,526. Patented May 25, 1869.v

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HENRY GROSS, OF MIDDLETOWN, PENNSYLVANIA.

.Letters Patent No. 90,526, dated Maty 25, 1869.

IMPROVEMENT IN' MANURE-HOOK OR DRAG.

L M-10H* The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and makingpart of the same.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HENRY GROSS, of Middletown, in the county ofDauphin, and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Manure-Hooks, or Drags; and I do hereby declare that thefollowing is a full, clear, and exact description of the same, referencebeing had to the ac-- practical drag, or hook, and is so arranged'thattheI main shaft, to which is attached the tines, is allowed to swingfreely in its bearings, whereby the load of manure can, with the utmostfacility, be dropped at any desired point. After the load has beendropped, the tines can be immediately thrown in position to collectanother load; or, if desired, they can be left perfectly free, when theslightest draught on the part of the horse will throw them in a positionnearly par# allel with the main beam, in which condition the drag canreadily be drawn", passing, as it will, freely over all obstructions.

To accomplish this, I out away the upper face of the rear section of themain beam, so as to leave a recess, :in which ts a trap-lever plate.This plate is nearly triangular in form. Its front edge is hinged to themain beam, and at its point of attachment is flush with the sides andupper face of the same.

This plate-being triangular in form, its rear section projects over thesides of the main beam, which furnishes bearingsurfaces for the earsthat are attached to the tine-shaft, and by means of which the shaft andtines are held and firmly locked in position, when desired. Y A

To the upper surface of this trap-plate is attached a Swan-neck handle,by means of which the plate can be lifted at pleasure, and the tineshaitallowed to revolve, to drop the load, or for any other pur-- poses.

The tine-shaft is secured in suitable bearing-plates on the under sideof the beam, and is provided with ears, which, when in position as shownin fig. 1, securely lock the shaft, and enable the drag to collect themanure.

To enable others skilled in the art to make and use my invention, I willnow proceed to describe its construction and operation.

A is the main beam, and is made of wood, slightly tapering in form.

To this main beam A, by means of staple l), screws b1 bl., and V-shapedbearing-rod b2, or equivalent devices, I secure the handles B B.

The rear section of the upper surface of the main beam A is cut away, asclearly shown in g. 1, leav-V ing a shoulder, a.

Against this shoulder rests the forward end of the trap-lever plate G.

This plate C is secured to the main beam by means of hinges c c, asclearly shown in tig. 2, and is nearly triangular in form.

Thus, while it is flush with the top and sides ofthe beam at its pointof contact with the shoulder a, its rear end projects over the sides ofthe beam, thus furnishing bearing-surfaces for the ears d d of thetine-shaft D, by means of which it is locked and held yin position, asclearly shown in iig. 3.

E is a swan-neck handle, and is made of metal, and attached to the uppersurface of the plate C, and by means of which said plate can be raisedat plea# sure.

D is the tine-shaft, and is made of metal, and provided with four ormore tines, d d.

This shaft D works freely in bearing-plates F and F, secured, by screwsff, on the under side of the main beam A. y

This shaft D isprovided with ears d d on its upper surface, which,bearing against the trap-plate G, hold the shaft and tines in theposition shown in blue in the drawing.

The under bearing-plate F of the shaft is provided with lips, or flangesf' f', on which rest the ears d (l, when the tines are in the positionshown in red in f1 l.

gThe under surface and edge of the plate O may be covered with a thinmetal plate, c', which will prevent its wear, and consequently add toits durability.

The operation is as follows:

The drag is in position asl shown in iig. 1. The draught being applied,the manure will be collected. When a suiicient quantity is held by thetines, simply lift the handle E, when the trap-plate will be in positionshown in red in fig. l, and the slightest movement on the part of theanimal attached to the drag will throw the shaft and tines in theposition also shown in red in iig. 1, whenthe load will be dropped, andthe tines can be returned to collect 'another load, or allowed to dragin the rear of the beam, and in position nearly parallel with the same,in which condition it can readily be moved from the stable to the field,or transported from one locality to another.

Having th-us fully described my invention,

What vI claim therein as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent ofthe United States, is-

1. Locking the tine-shaft of a manure-drag by means of a trap-leverplate, when the same is hinged to the -mein'beam, and works in'a. recessformed in In-testimouy whereof, I have signed my name to the uppersurface ofthesame, substantially as dethis specification, in thepresence of' two subscribing scribed, as and for the purpose specified.y Witnesses.

2. The trap-lever plate C, and handle E, when the HENRY GROSS. same areaijramged in combiuationlwitli a tine-shaft, Witnesses: DL having ears dsubstantially as described, as and BENJAMIN S. PETERS,

for the purposesspecied. J. SGHAEFFER.

